I've been a bit lazy with respect to this upload, as it is about two weeks overdue... However, it's here now. The items below are the best specimens found on my fossil hunt at Folkestone, on the south coast of England. I'm not 100% sure if I've got all the names right, so if you spot something wrong, please tell me :)

Euhoplites truncatus

The first example, pictured left, is a specimen of Euhoplites truncatus. Euhoplites is an extinct genus of cephalopod of the Ammonite sub-class. The fossils generaly date from the Middle Albian stage of the Cretaceous Period. This one was found on the surface of the shale, where there is an abundant supply of these fossils. It is a pyritised specimen.

The reason for the existence of the bumps on the side of the shell are, as yet, unknown, but may have existed to act as a slowing-down facter to stop them from going too fast in the water. E. truncatus was a small Ammonite, but there may have been differences in size depending on age and gender. Scientists have yet to confirm this.

Uhligella

I'm not sure what this one is to be precise, but I think, from the vein-like markings on surface, that this might be a specimen of Uhligella, which is a rare Genus of Ammonite. They too date from the Middle Albian stage of the Cretaceous period, but very little seems to be known about them. It's a shame the specimen is broken, because the quality of the crenellations are very good.

R Casey states, in the Geological Magazine, that:

"Uhligella is one of the links between the Hoplitidae and their smooth Desmoceratid ancestors, and occurs typically in the Albian of the Mediterranean Province. Two new species of Uhligella found in the Middle Albian of Folkestone provide the first record of the genus in England."

Neohibolites minimus

This one looks very much like pictures of Neohibolites minimus, also dating from the Middle Albian. It is a medium sized belemnite, caracterised by a pointy tip, a bulging section aft of the tip, and a tapering rostral end.

The Belemnites were are related to Ammonites, but also to the modern day Squid, Octopus and Nautilus. The Genus is now extinct. Their fossils are to be found in Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks, though this one was found poking nicely out of the clay :) It is normally only the guard which fossilises, however sometimes the Phragmacone, or buoyancy aid, can be found as well, though this is very rare.

The guard, at the opposite endof the head, is made of calcite. The end nearest to the head had a round opening called the alveolus. The other end tapers to a point, as can be seen in the specimen to the left.

Pyritised wood

A nice example of Pyritised Wood, found laying in the shale. It has almost iron-like colourings, and is rather heavier than you would expect.

]]>Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:05:22 GMThttp://www.jamesedwardhughes.com/fossil-hunting/warden-point-sheppeyWarden Point, on the Isle of Sheppey, England, is said to be a great place to find shark teeth. Normally found among the shingle, the shark teeth are dark in colour, and are easy to miss. The eroding coastline uncovers the London clay, with about 1 million years worth of sedimentary deposits from the Eocene era, aproximately 50 million years ago. At the time of the sedimentary deposits, the area was about 100m under water.

Unfortunately, on this visit I didn't find any shark teeth, but there were other interesting things on the shore.

One of the things you can find on the beach at Sheppey is a Septarian nodule. These are round spheres of yellow calcite. The photo on the right illusturates one of these that has been stained red by iron oxide on the inside.

Some of these Septarian nodules contain barite crystals, which can be seen in the photo to the left. To get to the crystals, the nodule has to be smashed open, either by hammer and chisel, or by the more fun method of hurling them against another rock.

I also found a pyritised twig. My next trip should be to Folkstone, so we shall see what treasures await me there.